4th Tbilisi International Conference

By Mariam Chanishvili

Thursday, September 13

McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University and the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) co-hosted an international conference in Tbilisi, Georgia: “World in 2018: Upside Down?” on September 11-12.

The event took place at Tbilisi Rooms Hotel.

Each September, the conference brings together regional experts on security issues, along with Georgian policymakers, civil society activists, and the business community – with a view toward keeping Georgia high on the transatlantic agenda.

Keeping Georgia on track in its democratic progress and transatlantic aspirations are among the main goals of the conference.

The conference is organized to pay tribute to the legacy of a leader - John McCain.

Conversation with Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia, and Edward Luce, Financial Times took place on September 11.

Conversation with Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia, and Kurt Volker, McCain Institute for International Leadership took place on September 12.

The sessions featured topics such as Future of European Security, the EU, and NATO, Global Security Context, State of European Security, Authoritarianism, Globalization & Nationalism, etc.

It is worth mentioning that Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia also participated in the conference.

The Economic Policy Research Center - EPRC founded in 2002, is created to build contemporary economic research capacity in Georgia, to enhance economic decision making and to be an important voice in economic and policy discussions. EPRC conducts studies in the areas of transition economies.